Government Shutdown 2019, 2018, and 2013 Explained

Why the Government Shut Down and What Happens Next

A government shutdown is when non-essential discretionary federal programs close. It occurs when Congress fails to .

In the normal budget process, Congress appropriates funds by September 30 for the following fiscal year. When that doesn't happen, it enacts a . If Congress can't even agree on that, it forces a shutdown. That signals a complete breakdown in the budget process.

Current Status of Shutdown Negotiations

On January 25, 2018, President Donald Trump and Congressional leaders . Trump that funds the government at current levels for three weeks while a bipartisan committee negotiates plans for increased border security.

On February 12, 2019, the committee that includes $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new border fences. It for additional border security. On February 14, 2019, the Senate and House passed the measure, avoiding another government shutdown.

a in addition to signing the spending bill. The grants the president broad discretion in declaring an emergency. President Obama used it after the 2009 swine flu outbreak, and President Bush used it after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Trump plans to use the emergency to repurpose existing military spending to build the wall. He may also from the Army Core of Engineers designated for disaster relief. But he . Texas landowners are suing to protect their property rights. California has sued to keep the funds for wildfire disaster relief. have also sued to keep Trump from bypassing Congress. Democrats are passing a joint resolution to repeal the national emergency.

The Constitution states that only Congress has control over the budget.

Trump launched the shutdown on January 4, 2019, he wouldn't approve a budget that didn't provide on the border with Mexico. It's a key piece of Trump's immigration policy. He believes it's the only solution to who have applied for asylum at the border since November 2018.

Most Recent Shutdown

The most recent shutdown began on December 21, 2018, when the president and Congress couldn't agree on a budget for nine federal agencies. It became on January 12, 2019, when it surpassed 22 days. It ended January 25, 2019, at 35 days, when President Trump and Congressional leaders.

There were 420,000 critical employees who kept working without pay. About were sent home without pay. As the shutdown stretched on, many looked for part-time work to pay bills.

, Congress passed a bill to for lost wages once the shutdown ended. Contract workers won't be reimbursed.

Housing and Urban Development - 95 percent of 7,497 workers. for the elderly and disabled is delayed.

Interior - 78 percent of 68,469 workers. wasn't sufficient to maintain and protect the parks, which remained opened. natural resources that could take 300 years to replace. The department lost in fees. The Environmental Protection Agency furloughed 95 percent of 13,872 workers.

Transportation - 34 percent of 54,230 workers. Some sick. in some airports.

In addition, many smaller agencies and administrations were shut down. For example, 95 percent of NASA employees . As a result, it took more than a week to repair the .

Impact on the Economy

, the shutdown affected economic growth. the shutdown reduced gross domestic product by $11 billion. That breaks down into $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $8 billion in January 2019. When government spending resumed, all would be recovered but $3 billion.

The true cost is probably higher. The CBO couldn't estimate the impact on businesses who couldn't get federal permits or loans in time.

What Led to the Shutdown?

On August 23, 2018, the U.S. Senate approved an for Fiscal Year 2019 that funded the departments of Defense, Labor, Education, and Health and Human Services. On September 18, it passed a that funded the other departments until December 7. It included $1.6 billion for the border wall. until December 21.

On December 11, 2018, Congressional Democrats met with the president. Trump threatened to if they didn't include $5 billion to build the wall.

Democrats said a wall would be ineffective. They offered $1.3 billion to continue . It includes border fencing, levee walls, and technology but not a steel barrier wall. They want more funds to target ports of entry, advanced technology for scanning vehicles for drugs, and more immigration judges.

On December 18, he would compromise. On December 19, 2018, an extension of current spending until February 8, 2019.

But then he wouldn't sign it. On December 20, 2018, the House of Representatives passed a bill that . Senate leaders tried to renegotiate and pass a new spending bill. At 7 p.m. eastern time it became clear , and the government shut down.

Congress could have ended the shutdown without the president. Technically, any bill approved by both houses of Congress even without the president's signature. Even if the president vetoes it, Congress could override the veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both houses.

Pros and Cons of the Wall

The U.S. border with Mexico is 2,000 miles long. A third of it already has a . Much of that was built thanks to the Secure Fence Act of 2006. It cost $2.3 billion to expand barriers and checkpoints. . The reduced competition increased low-skilled workers' pay by $0.36 a year.

Erecting a wall on the rest of the border would stop 144,000 immigrants. It would raise incomes of low-skilled workers by 58 cents a year. It would cost $15 per American to build the wall.

But the wall would hurt the economy overall. Incomes of higher-skilled workers would fall by $7.60 a year. The U.S. economy would lose more than $4 billion a year. The same thing happened with the existing wall. Workers with college degrees lost $4.35 annually. As a result, the economy declined by $2.5 billion.

The the money would be better spent on technology and agents to prevent illegal crossings. It advocates more enforcement to apprehend immigrants who overstay their visas.

A Shutdown Also Occurred in January 2018

On January 19, 2018, the government shut down for almost three days. The Senate failed to pass a continuing resolution to extend spending until February 16, 2018. Republicans couldn't get enough Democrats for the 60 votes needed. The continuing resolution was a stopgap measure to buy time to pass the budget for FY 2018.

the bill to protect immigrants eligible for . They were concerned that Trump's immigration plan would end the program in February. Some . They wanted to focus on passing the permanent budget instead of another continuing resolution.

On January 22, Congress ended the shutdown. It passed that expired at midnight on February 8, 2018. Republicans promised to work with Democrats on DACA legislation.

On February 9, the government shut down again, this time for five and a half hours. Senator Rand Paul objected to the . It added more than $300 billion to the debt.

The imposed by sequestration. Republicans increased defense spending by $80 billion a year to $629 billion. Sequestration limited it to $549 billion. a year for nondefense discretionary spending. That's above the sequestration limit of $516 billion. The bill included $80 billion in disaster relief and $6 billion to treat opioid addiction. It also included for two years. Tax provisions added $17 billion.

What Happens During a Government Shutdown?

The discretionary budget funds most federal departments. But those that provide essential services are not shut down. Essential services are those that include defense, national safety, and security. Many of these agencies are set up so they can operate for weeks without a funding bill. The it wouldn't pay military personnel during a shutdown.

Border Protection and Immigration, air traffic controls, and the Transportation Security Administration remain open. The Justice Department remains open, but gun permits are not be issued during a shutdown. The Postal Service has a separate source of funds, so mail continues to be delivered.

What about Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid payments? They are part of the mandatory budget. That budget also includes the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Affordable Care Act. These programs are never shut down because their funding is automatic. They were created by separate Acts of Congress.

Other U.S. Government Shutdown Examples

Here are examples of when the federal government either shut down or narrowly avoided one.

2017. The . That's when the continuing resolution, passed on September 30, 2016, expired. Congress hadn't allocated funds for the FY 2017 budget, which covered October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017. The continuing resolution funded the government during the 2016 presidential election and transition. The Senate and House approved the spending bill on May 1, 2017. It appropriated $1.1 trillion in spending.

In March 2017, the submitted a request to add $14.6 billion to the FY 2017 budget. It wanted to expand the defense budget by $24.9 billion, Homeland Security by $3 billion, and the Emergency budget by $5.1 billion. Trump asked Congress to cut $10 billion from all other departments. Included in that budget was $1.6 billion for a border wall with Mexico. On August 23, 2017, Trump promised his administration would if Congress didn't include funding for the wall.

Many Republicans oppose the border wall. Those from California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas face the most consequences. They say the wall won't work, especially without added security forces. Others worry about the impact on the environment in their states.

Democrats also oppose the wall. They would prefer to use the funds to keep Obamacare subsidies and the other domestic spending programs. They want to increase programs for opioid addiction and health care for coal miners.

For the continuing resolution to pass, the Trump administration withdrew its request for border wall funding. It also agreed to continue providing Obamacare subsidies.

2013. The government shutdown began on October 1, 2013. The Republican-controlled House submitted a continuing resolution without administrative funds for Obamacare. The Senate rejected the bill and sent one back that included Obamacare. The House ignored that bill. It sent one back that delayed the mandate that everyone should buy health insurance. It also deleted the subsidies for Congress and their staffers. The Senate ignored that bill and the government shut down.

October 1. TV news highlight how veterans can't visit the WWII Memorial and cancer patients can't take advantage of treatment trials at the National Institute of Health.

October 2. Republicans submit a funding bill that delays Obamacare for a year.

October 3. Obama calls on the House to vote on the Senate's continuing resolution.

October 4. Boehner considers negotiating a budget proposal that will fund the government and raise the debt ceiling. At the same time, he calls on the Senate to negotiate on Obamacare.

October 5. The secretary of Defense calls back furloughed civilian workers.

October 6. The House passes a bill to reimburse furloughed federal employees, even though they aren't working. But no one gets paid until a funding resolution is passed.

October 7. Boehner won't fund the government or raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Obamacare. These mandatory programs aren't even part of the discretionary budget that is shut down.

October 8. House Republicans propose a "Supercommittee" to negotiate a budget acceptable to both parties. But House Democrats want the shutdown ended and the debt ceiling raised before establishing such a committee. In addition, Senate Democrats might propose a stand-alone bill to raise the debt ceiling.

October 9. House Democrats meet with Boehner before meeting with Obama.

October 10. Boehner and a team of House Republicans meet with Obama. They proposed raising the debt ceiling for six weeks to allow time to negotiate.

October 11. House Republicans put together a budget in exchange for raising the debt ceiling for six weeks and reopening the government.

October 12. Talks between Boehner and Obama break down. The Senate creates a plan to force the House to an agreement, as it did during the 2011 debt ceiling crisis and the fiscal cliff crisis.

October 13. Senate bilateral negotiations continue. Republicans want to extend the debt ceiling for three months, fund the government at current levels for six months, establish a bipartisan Congressional committee to agree on spending cuts to Medicare, delay Obamacare's tax on medical devices for two years, and give agencies more leeway in implementing sequestration.

October 14. Senate Democrats want to increase spending by $70 billion on the sequestration cuts that hit in January. They want the debt ceiling raised for a year. Republicans want cuts in Medicare and Obamacare and a three- to six-month extension of the debt ceiling.

October 15. The House submits its own plan, which has thrown a wrench into the Senate's negotiations. Neither side of Congress will accept the other's proposal.

October 16. The House plan didn't get the support of Tea Party Republicans, so it was dropped. Speaker Boehner put the Senate plan to a vote, where it passed through Democrat and moderate Republican votes. The president signed it Wednesday night.

October 17. The bill raised the debt ceiling until February 7, 2014, and reopened the federal government until January 15, 2014. It set up a budget conference committee, led by Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash, and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisc, to submit a unified budget to the president by December 15, 2013.

The the shutdown slowed economic growth by 0.2 percent to 0.6 percent. It also cost 120,000 jobs. The government was unable to issue certificates for ships carrying U.S. exports and 200 drilling permits were delayed. Around 850,000 federal employees were furloughed each day.

2011. In April, the Republican-led House and President from the Fiscal Year 2011 budget, averting a shutdown. Most of the cuts were programs that couldn't spend the funds and would have occurred anyway. In reality, only $38 billion was actually cut.

Republicans gave up an earlier proposal of $61 billion in cuts in non-defense discretionary spending, including cuts to Planned Parenthood. This also allowed Obamacare and the Dodd-Frank Bank Reform Act to remain unscathed. Their cuts would have cost 800,000 jobs. Democrats gave up on $1.7 billion in cuts to defense.

1995. The twice: November 13 to November 19, 1995, and December 5, 1995, to January 6, 1996. Republican Speaker of the House won the Republican Party's 1994 . It promised to slash funding and introduce a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

But no such amendment passed, so Gingrich went after Democratic President Bill Clinton's FY 1996 budget. He demanded steep cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, and other non-defense discretionary spending in return for raising the debt ceiling. To keep the United States from defaulting, a continuing resolution bill was passed until November 13. When no budget deal was reached, the government shut down until both sides agreed to balance the budget in seven years.

But they couldn't agree on which budget items would be cut by the time the resolution ended. The government shut down on December 15. By January 1996, both sides negotiated an agreement that cut some spending and raised some taxes, balancing the budget over the next seven years.